• From: Aotearoa
  • Registered: 2007-10-23
  • Posts: 255

Topic: HDPSe AoX Series with Dante or Milan

Congrats @MC.  A native RME PCie Dante solution has been the dream of many a sound tech for a long time.  I am sure they will sell like hot cakes into many different market segments.

And the add-on MADI capability is just wonderful for further ROI on our current RME Madi gear.

https://rme-audio.de/hdspe-aox-d.html

https://rme-audio.de/hdspe-aox.html

Madiface XT, Madiface, 3x Micstasy, ADI8QS
Sequoia 17, W10 x64
https://bsound.co.nz/tools-nix
  • From: UK/CH
  • Registered: 2018-08-18
  • Posts: 43

Re: HDPSe AoX Series with Dante or Milan

+1

HDSPe AES + HDSPe RayDat + HDSPe MADI
ADI-2 mk.1 x2 + other converters
Cubase + VEP
  • From: manchester UK
  • Registered: 2008-05-01
  • Posts: 5

Re: HDPSe AoX Series with Dante or Milan

Do we know yet if these cards are going to get the room EQ feature?

4 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
  • Administrator
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  • From: Germany/Thailand
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 25,352

Re: HDPSe AoX Series with Dante or Milan

That is unlikely as there is no dedicated DSP for such stuff. They also don't have standard PEQ in the channels. These are flexible multi-format channel monsters with advanced routing and mixing capabilities (TM FX with 256 channels...), but no sound processing as such.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

5 Reply by Ninbura (edited by Ninbura 2024-06-19 21:50:28)

  • From: Utah, USA
  • Registered: 2020-10-08
  • Posts: 104

Re: HDPSe AoX Series with Dante or Milan

I currently have a Digiface Dante connected to a MADI FX. This effectively gives me 64 channels of Dante over PCIe. I could technically replace these two devices with one of these, and offload DSP to my other interfaces.

I'm interested to learn more about the routing on these interfaces. The "Signal Flow" graphic is pretty confusing to me:
https://www.rme-usa.com/files/uploads/Content-Bilder/HDSPe%20AoX-D%2048k@2x.png

I would have assumed given the connection interface (PCIe x4) & the dual expansion boards, that you could technically drive 768ch in/out (512 DANTE | 128 MADI | 128 MADI). But looks like you're limited to 512ch in/out over the PCIe connection.

The other confusing bit is only being able to control 256ch via TotalMix FX? I'm not sure I understand why all channels wouldn't be exposed in TotalMix FX. Currently the MADI FX does 390 channels, all exposed to TMFX, over a single PCIe lane.

Could be that I'm just misunderstanding some of this stuff.

2x MADI FX | Digiface Dante | Fireface UFX+ | ADI-192 DD

6 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
  • Administrator
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  • From: Germany/Thailand
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 25,352

Re: HDPSe AoX Series with Dante or Milan

Transferring 512 channels both ways on current operating systems is not a guaranteed task. Not to mention that many DAWs can't handle that amount of channels. The hardware resources in the FPGA to handle the data traffic exclude 768 channels as well.

TotalMix FX with 256 channels (rec or play) needs several tricks to work at all. The numbers of mixer knots / crosspoints and the possible combinations rises exponentially with channel count, and state changes (snapshot, workspace) need to be transferred in near real-time. There is a CPU and PCIe limit for that, 512 channels will clearly break it.

We have good reasons to limit our hardware the way it is.

Regarding MADI FX 390 channels: check the diagram again. Left is input, right is output, 256 channels go from TM FX to DAW and back, so this equals 512 channels (but for TM FX we refer to rec or play, not both summed).

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • From: Utah, USA
  • Registered: 2020-10-08
  • Posts: 104

Re: HDPSe AoX Series with Dante or Milan

Thank you for the clarifications, makes much more sense. I'll be following along to see how it all works in practice.

2x MADI FX | Digiface Dante | Fireface UFX+ | ADI-192 DD